First OnePlus 3 flash sale will take place before it's even launched

OnePlus will hold a flash sale for its new flagship phone, one week before its official launch date.

The Chinese manufacturer has never been one to do things by the book, and its latest scheme certainly doesn't buck that trend.

Just a day after confirming the OnePlus 3's June 14 (technically June 15 in Shenzhen) launch date, and informing customers that they would be able to buy the phone invitation free from the start, OnePlus has surprised us again.

At 10AM local time on June 6, the company will sell 1,000 OnePlus 3 handsets on its Chinese website for a price of ¥2999, or around £315. That's actually a little pricier than many are expecting the final model to be, and indeed OnePlus confirms that "this is not the actual price."

The company says it will refund the difference once the final price is announced. The phones themselves won't ship until launch day.

Essentially, then, OnePlus is conducting a flash sale (albeit without discount) of its flagship phone one week before it's even announced.

So, is this a promotional stunt, or a new way of helping mitigate the risk of going invite-free from launch for what is still a relatively small manufacturer? We wouldn't be surprised if it was a bit of both.

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